With many vegetables already in the ground or soon-to-be planted, home gardeners can incorporate a few simple practices into their management programs to minimize diseases this growing season, said Kenny Seebold, extension plant pathologist for the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.
Growers should consult their seed supplier or catalog for the availability of disease-resistant varieties.

Central Kentucky Ag Credit has declared $1.3 million in patronage payments to association borrowers in the Bluegrass Region. The patronage payout is currently being made in full cash payments to members who were Ag Credit borrowers last year (2011). The 2011 patronage distribution is the largest in association history.

The University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Lab is seeing cases of bloat in cattle 20 days earlier than normal, said Craig Carter, lab director.
“From Jan. 1 through April 3, the UKVDL has confirmed seven cases of bloat in Central Kentucky,” Carter said.
Bloat, or frothy bloat, is a life-threatening disease in cattle that can occur when animals ingest young, vegetative legumes. The most common legume grazed in Kentucky is white clover, but cattle can also get bloat from grazing alfalfa and red clover.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency invites minority farmers and ranchers in Marion County and across the nation to voluntarily join the USDA Minority Farm Register to receive information and opportunities from USDA agencies.